1. Field of the Inventive Concept
The present general inventive concept relates to a system to desensitize an animal to an anxiety-inducing event, and more particularly relates to systems and methods of reducing the anxiety felt by an animal after being exposed to an anxiety-inducing event.
2. Description of the Related Art
Approximately 20-50% of pets develop an anxiety or fear associated with a particular sensation (e.g., sight and/or sound), such as thunder/lightning, gunfire, car backfire, fireworks, and various other sudden and intense audio/visual sensations. One of the first biological reactions to such an anxiety is the rejection of food and/or treats. Other reactions to such an anxiety include panting, pacing, trembling, hiding, barking, and/or becoming aggressive and/or destructive. When such an anxiety goes untreated, the continuing reactions by the pet result in an unhappy and potentially unhealthy animal.
Conventional treatments for anxiety associated with a particular audio or video sensation include strong sedatives prescribed by a veterinarian. Drawbacks to sedatives include cost, side effects, incapacitation of the pet, and injury associated therewith. Additionally, although sedatives can be administered to a pet prior to, for example, an impending storm, many anxiety-causing occurrences are unpredictable and sudden such that sedating a pet prior to the onset of anxiety is not possible.
A more extreme method for desensitizing a pet to a particular sensation requires a pet owner to conduct therapy sessions multiple times a day on an ongoing basis. One such conventional method is detailed at www.scarednomore.com. Although the obvious limitation of such a method is inconvenience for the pet owner, an additional limitation is the effect of the pet owner on the pet. More specifically, in treating anxiety, pets take cues from the owner's behavior, and treating the pet is more effective when the pet is not exposed to these cues. Consequently, a method and device for desensitizing a pet to a particular sensation and for minimizing the active involvement of a pet owner in such desensitization is desired.